Cinderblock

by Janine Ellen Young

In twenty-first-century America, where reality is what one makes it, a young man with a supernatural affinity for computers and an armed revolutionary are pursued by the Virtuals, a group of online dictators. Original.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

Mass Market Paperback

First published April 1, 1997

Reviews

[Daniel Deely · Rating 5 out of 5]

cyberpunk action in tradition of William Gibson

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been a long time since I read any cyberpunk, but Cinderblock was a nice reintroduction. I originally read this about 10 years ago, when I wrote an article about the book and author for the Santa Monica Weekly newspaper, but I don't have that review handy, and can't remember what I thought of the book at the time. If I find that older review, I may update this review to include notes from that one.

At the core, this book has some standard post-apocalyptic cyberpunk themes and concepts - even the plot itself seems at first to be pretty formulaic - but as things progress, the book is infused with some unexpected twists and quite a few creative ideas. Ultimately, it morphs from cypberpunk/sci fi into a kind of cyber-fantasy. I didn't always understand what was happening at a given moment, and there were still quite a few questions left unanswered at the end, but I wouldn't call it boring at any point. And some of the elements and characters have lingered pleasantly in my mind as things to contemplate.

I'd give this 3.5 stars, but on the round up side of 3.5 stars, hence the 4 you actually see.